Circuit intendant of Shanghai

Circuit intendant of Shanghai
The retinue of the Shanghai intendant in the 1890s
Traditional Chinese
Simplified Chinese
Transcriptions Standard Mandarin Hanyu Pinyin Shànghǎi dàotái Wade–Giles Shang-hai tao-t‘ai Wu Romanization Zɑ̃²³-hɛ³⁴ dɔ²³-dɛ²³

The circuit intendant or daotai of Shanghai, also formerly romanized as taotai or tao tai, was an imperial Chinese official who oversaw the circuit of Shanghai in the Qing Empire. He oversaw the area's courts, law enforcement, civic defense, canals, and customs collection. As well as areas within modern Shanghai, his remit also included Qidong in present-day Jiangsu.

The position was only compensated at the 4a level () but, in addition to other sources of income, it was seen as a springboard to higher office within the empire.

The original seat of the circuit was at Taicang. It was moved to Shanghai in the 18th century. The first foreign settlement in Shanghai, the British Concession, was established by the Land Regulations () undertaken on the initiative of the intendant Gong Mujiu. His was the one who signed it on behalf of the Qing government on 29 November 1845. Lin Gui approved the British consul Rutherford Alcock's proposal to extend the British boundary west from Barrier Road (, today's Henan Rd.) to Thibet Road (, now Xizang Rd.) on 27 November 1848. On 6 April 1849, he signed the agreement with Charles de Montigny formalizing and delineating the city's French Concession. An intendant was also involved with the establishment of the Shanghai International Settlement upon the merging of the British and American settlements in 1863.